IGOR YEFREMOV ON RBC ABOUT THE ISSUES OF MIGRANT INTEGRATION AND LOW BIRTH RATE IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

On April 14, Igor Yefremov, a Researcher of the International Research Department of Political Demography and Macrodynamics at the Gaidar Institute, took part in the RBC program “Main News. The discussion was dedicated to the topic: “Migrants: a threat to labor market and demographic rescue.”

Igor Yefremov noted that the inflow of migrants has now reduced to about 200-250.000 people per year, which is not enough to cover the natural population decline. The expert predicts a further deterioration of the demographic situation, primarily due to the aging population. This is a problem important enough as the decline in the birth rate raises the retirement age and increases the tax burden for the working population, so that to support retirees. From an economic point of view, migrants are beneficial to the Russian economy; the vast majority of migrants make contributions to Russian pension and medical funds, thereby partially financing pensions and healthcare for Russian people. In terms of demographics, Igor Yefremov believes that the focus should be on the permanent migration, on the integration of migrants rather than on temporary migration. According to surveys, out of several million migrants coming to Russia to work, only a small part wishes to stay in Russia forever.